Aircraft: Piper Cherokee. Injuries: 1 Serious. Location: Margaret, Ala. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot and passenger departed on a local flight. The airplane was in cruise flight, about 1,000 feet AGL, when the engine lost power. Attempts to restart the engine were unsuccessful. The pilot made an emergency landing on a road, and the airplane […]
NTSB Accidents
Loss of control on takeoff
Aircraft: Cessna 172. Injuries: 1 Minor. Location: Colorado Springs, Colo. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot reported that the wind during takeoff was from the right at 9 knots, gusting to 13 knots. He rotated the airplane at 55 knots, then it started to drift. He heard the stall warning horn, so he lowered the nose […]
Mid-air in VFR conditions kills two
Aircraft: Cessna 172, Cessna 180. Injuries: 2 Fatal, 1 Minor. Location: Longmont, Colo. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: Day VFR conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, with reported visibilities at 60 miles. Neither pilot was receiving air traffic control advisories at the time of the collision. Radar track data depicted the airplanes on gradually converging […]
Mechanical malfunction brings down Debonair
Aircraft: Beechcraft Debonair. Injuries: None. Location: St. George, Utah. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: According to the pilot, during cruise flight, the engine’s exhaust gas temperature was hotter than normal and the fuel flow was lower than normal. The engine lost power and multiple attempts to restart the engine were unsuccessful. The pilot made a gear-up forced […]
In-flight break-up kills three
Aircraft: Beech Bonanza. Injuries: 3 Fatal. Location: Glencoe, Minn. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: There was no record of the non-instrument-rated private pilot receiving a preflight weather briefing. He was attempting to conduct the flight under VFR although the weather was IFR. Witnesses on the ground in the area of the crash reported hearing the airplane flying […]
Off runway ride in Cherokee
Aircraft: Piper Cherokee. Injuries: None. Location: Indianapolis. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The student pilot was on a solo flight. He completed three normal takeoffs and landings before attempting a soft-field takeoff. As the nose lifted, the airplane began to veer left. He attempted to correct with an application of right rudder, but lost directional control, so […]
Hard landing bends Arrow
Aircraft: Piper Cherokee Arrow. Injuries: None. Location: New Smyrna, Fla. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot was preparing for his initial flight instructor check ride with a CFI on board. He performed a 180° power-off approach and landing. During the landing, he flared the airplane about 10 feet above the runway and it landed hard. After […]
Poor planning results in poor performance
Aircraft: Piper Cherokee. Injuries: 1 Fatal, 1 Serious. Location: Mexico, Mo. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: The pilot and his wife were departing from a 2,600-foot grass runway with a quartering right tailwind. The grass on the runway was between 6 and 10 inches high. The airplane took off about 1,900 feet down the runway, veered to […]
Crosswind crimps Bellanca
Aircraft: Bellanca Super Viking. Injuries: None. Location: Branson, Mo. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot was attempting to land. At the time the wind was from the south at 8 to 10 knots with gusts to 20 knots. As he approached for landing on runway 12, he crabbed the airplane into the wind and slipped it […]